In the super featherweight battle between Sergio Thompson (26-2, 24 KO) and Gustavo Sandoval (13-4-1, 11 KO), Thompson came out of the gate looking to be the enforcer and bring the fight to Sandoval.
Immediately he began to let his hands go, landing the majority of his combinations an utilizing his jab to set up his right hand, backing up Sandoval through each round.
Sandoval was a gamed opponent as he did his best to stand toe-to-toe with Thompson at times, but lost all of the exchanges. Thompson was able to beat him to the punch and use his overhand right to land flush on Sandoval’s chin.
A one-sided battle going into the fourth round, Sandoval tried to change the pace of the fight by throwing a flurry of his own, which Thompson took with no problem. Seeing his opening when Sandoval stopped throwing and dropped his hands, Thompson really turned it on and connected with more than a handful of power shots. Sandoval never seemed too hurt, but the referee had seen enough and called a halt to the belt. Following the stoppage Sandoval laid on the canvas for a few minutes, but later emerged from the ring.
The win was Thompson’s 13th consecutive victory, the 12th by way of stoppage. He needed to come out in impressive fashion and dismiss of Sandoval to show that he is nearing being ready to face the division’s elite as he eyes a title fight later in the year.
In the main event of the night, hometown favorite “El Demoledor” Pablo Cesar Cano (26-2-1-, 20 KO) and former three division world champion Sugar Shane Mosley (46-8-1, 39 KO) battled for the vacant WBC International Welterweight Title.
Mosley came into this fight without a win in over four years, and the outcome of the 12-round battle would surely be an indication of where he was at in his career, and what was next for him. At 41, a loss to the emerging Mexican Cano may have put him on the fast track to retirement.
The first few rounds of the fight the boxer spent feeling each other out, and Cano won the majority of the exchanges. Priding himself on his speed and elusiveness through the better part of his career, Mosley looked sluggish at the onset of the fight and unable to find his timing.
And as the rounds went on Cano seemed to find his groove, though it was short lived.
Mid-fight Mosley found a home for his overhand right, and it became a staple for his attack.
Just as Cano seemed to be in charge of the fight for the first five or six rounds of the fight, it appeared he either ran out of gas or was more hurt by the right hands than he let on, because he looked like a different fighter for the remainder of the bout.
Mosley showed what made him a champion, even at the latter stages of his career as he was able to dig deep and leave it all in the ring.
All three judges had it the same; 115-113 for Mosley, who was able to derail the young Mexican’s hopes of fighting for a belt again in 2013.
In a make it or break it fight, Mosley rose to the occasion and put on an impressive performance. In the end it seemed either fighter could’ve been given the decision because the fight was that back and forth.
For the 23-year old Cano it is back to the drawing board as he now has lost two fights in a row against top competition. For the new WBC International Welterweight Champion, he showed he still has the smarts and technical boxing to bang with top up-and-coming talent, and emerge with his hand raised.
We have not seen the last of Sugar Shane Mosley.